(At the Great Clock)
"Thank you so much for coming with me, Kit," said Clank.
"You are very welcome, Clank," said Kit.
Clank had traveled to the Great Clock to check and see how everything was going. He was originally given the task to become the Senior Caretaker of the clock by his father, Orvus. But eventually, he realized he couldn't leave his best friend, Ratchet, behind. At least not until he found his own family. So he decided to promote his friend, whose name was Sigma 0426A, or Sigmund for short, to Senior Caretaker in his place. Still, there would be a few times where Clank would return to the Great Clock to make sure everything was okay. And today, he thought it might be alright if he invited Kit, his female counterpart from another dimension, to come along with him. When they arrived at the entrance to the Orvus Chamber, they were given a warm welcome by Sigmund.
"Clank!" Sigmund said in delight as he rushed over to Clank and vigorously shook his hand. "It's so great to see you again!"
"Hello, Sigmund," Clank said with a smile. "If it is alright with you, I have brought a new friend along with me this time."
"A new friend?" Sigmund said in surprise. "Oh, how wonderful! Who is it?"
Clank then turned to Kit and said, "Kit, this is Sigmund. Sigmund, this is Kit."
"It is nice to meet you, Sigmund," Kit said in a friendly voice as she held her hand out to shake Sigmund's.
"Why, hello, Kit!" Sigmund replied, shaking her hand. "Any friend of Clank's is a friend of mine."
Then he noticed Clank's new yellow right arm that Rivet gave him and said, "Hey, nice paint job on your arm, Clank."
"Why, thank you," Clank said, flattered. "But it is actually a prosthetic arm, not a paint job."
Sigmund gasped in shock and said, "Oh, dear! What happened to you?"
"It is a long story," replied Clank.
Then Kit spoke up and added, "We will tell you all about it. But I would also like to see more of the Great Clock, if that is okay."
"Yes, of course it is!" Sigmund replied, excitedly. "I would love to give you a tour of the Great Clock. And if you like, we can also talk and get to know each other during it. What do you say?"
"Yes," said Kit with a smile. "That would be wonderful."
Then she turned to Clank and asked, "What do you think, Clank?"
Clank smiled back to her and said, "Of course."
"Well, then right this way, ma'am," said Sigmund as he escorted Kit to a different part of the Great Clock and Clank followed along.
As the two male robots showed Kit many different parts of the Great Clock, all three of them had a great time talking about their past adventures, such as saving the clock from being used as a time machine by Dr. Nefarious and repairing dimensional rifts to save the omniverse. Clank and Kit even told Sigmund about how Clank lost his arm during the dimensional cataclysm and the time Kit accidentally caused Rivet to lose her right arm while she was working as a warbot for Emperor Nefarious. All of this was a lot for both Kit and Sigmund to process. But they were both very relieved that everything had worked out just fine in the end.
Finally, the three robots reached the last part of the tour: the Orvus Chamber.
"And here is where our tour ends," Sigmund said to Kit, acting as a tour guide. "The Orvus Chamber."
"Oh, my," Kit said in amazement.
"That's right," Sigmund continued. "This room is where the main controls for the Great Clock are located. And here is the main switch."
Then he pressed a button and the main terminal switch rose out of the floor in the middle of the room.
"Amazing," Kit said in awe.
"Yes," said Sigmund. "But remember, the most important rule about the Great Clock is that it must never, ever, EVER be used as a time machine. Because it isn't meant to alter time. Only to keep it. Heh. But that rule didn't seem to stop a certain lunatic Lombax from wanting to use it to change the past."
When Clank heard Sigmund say that last part, his eyes widened in shock and his stomach dropped.
"Did you say 'Lombax'?" Kit asked in surprise.
"I sure did," replied Sigmund. "But I don't mean Ratchet or Rivet. I'm talking about Alister Azimuth. Like Dr. Nefarious, he also wanted to use the clock to go back in time. But it was for a different reason: to bring back the other Lombaxes. I mean, he did mean well, but he was about to make a very big mistake. Ratchet, Clank and I tried to stop him, but he was just so persistent and violent that we couldn't stop him from reaching the main switch and using it to turn back time. Then everything started to fall apart as my friends fought him, and Ratchet accidentally broke the lever when he tried to restore the time flow back to normal. Eventually, Azimuth realized his mistake and used his OmniWrench to fix the switch and stop the clock from breaking and destroying the universe. He succeeded, but a burst of built-up energy took place, killing him in the process."
"Oh, my goodness," Kit said in shock.
"I know!" agreed Sigmund. "Crazy, right?"
As Kit tried to process everything she had just heard, she noticed that Clank now had a sad look on his face. Feeling worried, she walked over to him and said, "Clank? Are you alright?"
Clank sadly turned to her and said, "I am fine, Kit. I just… have something on my mind, that is all."
"Would you like to talk about it?" asked Kit.
"Yes," replied Clank. "But I do not want Sigmund to know about this."
"I understand," said Kit, nodding her head. "I will ask him to leave us alone for a moment. Wait here."
Then she walked up to Sigmund and said, "Pardon me, Sigmund. Clank and I would like a few minutes alone if that is alright with you."
"Of course, ma'am," he replied. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," said Kit. "We just need a moment by ourselves, that is all."
"Very well, then," said Sigmund, calmly. "I'll just head outside, then. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"We will," replied Kit. "Thank you."
As Sigmund headed out of the room, Kit walked up to Clank, who was now sitting on the couch, and sat down beside him.
"What ever is the matter, Clank?" she asked.
"Well…" said Clank, feeling a little uneasy. "You know how the Great Clock is not to be used as a time machine?"
"Yes, I do," replied Kit.
Then Clank took a deep breath and said, "Well, nobody knows this, but I may have sort of broken that rule a little bit as well."
Kit gasped in shock after hearing this.
"Oh, dear!" she said. "What happened?"
"It is a long story," said Clank. "You see, originally, after Ratchet and I defeated Dr. Nefarious and told Azimuth that the clock was not meant to be a time machine, Azimuth got very angry and shot some energy from his wrench at Ratchet, killing him in the process. I was very shocked and upset after witnessing that, but I still knew that I had to stop Azimuth from reaching the main switch before me. I was able to get here before him and shut the door so he could not enter. Then, as I looked at the main switch, I thought about everything I was taught about the clock, and I remembered a friend telling me not to risk any more than six minutes. Then I realized that he meant that was the longest the clock could reverse the time flow. So I used the main switch to go back six minutes and prevent Ratchet from being killed. But I cannot help but feel like I had caused someone Ratchet was very close to to be taken away from him. Because now, Azimuth is the one who is dead instead of Ratchet. Also, I feel like I may have let my father down."
After hearing Clank's story, Kit covered her mouth in shock. Everything she heard sure was a lot for her to process. Once she was able to do so, she gently placed her hand onto his and gave him a reassuring smile.
"If it helps, Clank, I do not think you caused Azimuth to be taken away from Ratchet," she said to him in a soft voice. "And I actually believe you did the right thing."
"Really?" Clank said as he turned to face Kit.
"Yes," replied Kit. "And I am sure your father would understand. You did it to save your best friend. And if I had that same opportunity to go back six minutes to prevent me from causing Rivet to lose her arm, I would have done the very same thing."
"You would have?" Clank said, cheering up a little bit.
"Of course," Kit said with a smile.
Clank smiled back at her and said, "Thank you, Kit. Hearing you say that has made me feel much better about all of this. And I deeply appreciate you listening to my story. You are actually the first person I have ever told it to."
"That's what good friends are for, Clank," said Kit.
Then Clank thought for a moment and said, "But could you please do me one little favor?"
"Of course, Clank," replied Kit. "What is it?"
"Promise me you will not tell anyone else about this," said Clank. "Especially Ratchet. I am a little worried he might believe Azimuth is dead because of me."
"I strongly doubt he would believe that," said Kit. "But if it makes you feel any better, your secret is safe with me. I promise."
"Thank you, Kit," Clank said with a smile.
And the two robots gave each other a little hug.